Dog park to shut 3 weeks in Mount Washington

April 15, 2014 11:04 PM

Mount Washington’s Olympia Park off-leash dog play area will close today through May 9 for the muddy ground to dry out and to allow the grass to grow. During the closure, requested by the dog park’s advocates, a community meeting will be held to discuss the status of the one-acre site, which several nearby residents have reported as a nuisance of noise and stench too close to their homes.

A series of community meetings in 2012 resulted in the city’s approval of the area, which is fenced, at the corner of Virginia Avenue and Hallock Street, but plans for new benches, bag dispensers and a garbage bin have been held up by the city.

In the meantime, city Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith and the city administration has scheduled a meeting at 6 p.m. on April 29 at the Virginia Avenue Senior Center, 122 Virginia Ave., to discuss the park’s status.

Adam Causgrove, president of PAWS for Olympia Park, said the group was concerned “about how hard the winter was” on the ground. “We asked the city to have it shut down for three weeks to allow it to dry out. In the long term, the goal is that everyone who uses the park wants it to be the best park it can be.”

Most Read

Most Emailed

Most Commented

Join the conversation:

To report inappropriate comments, abuse and/or repeat offenders, please send an email to
socialmedia@post-gazette.com and include a link to the article and a copy of the comment. Your report will be reviewed in a timely manner.
Thank you.